


When Love Submits a Help Request

by protect_him



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And We Love That about him, Corrupt Politicians, Customer Service & Tech Support, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Referenced Slavery, Tech-savvy Fenris, anders is clueless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:28:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29936892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protect_him/pseuds/protect_him
Summary: Anders is clueless when it comes to technology. Thankfully, Hawke knows a guy... a guy with some secrets, but he's good at what he does.
Relationships: Anders/Fenris (Dragon Age)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	1. I Know a Guy...

Anders’s voice rang frantically in Garrett’s ear.

“Calm down, stop panicking,” Hawke said soothingly. “Take a deep breath, and tell me what’s wrong. Do you need me to call someone for you?”

Anders sniffled on the other end of the line.

“No,” he said weakly.

“Good, now what’s wrong?”

Anders took a deep, shaky breath.

“My computer won’t turn on,” he said.

Hawke bit his lip to keep from laughing, but he smiled. _Oh, Anders, you handsome disaster_. Hawke knew his feelings for Anders were unrequited. Anders was not into his type, which was fine, but oh times like this were hard. Anders was so sweet and needy.

“I don’t know anything about computers,” Hawke admitted. “I got the one you have from Varric when his office was upgrading equipment. I could phone Varric, or I met this guy recently who does some tech stuff. He might be able to help you.”

“Please?” Anders sniffled again, but he sounded better.

“Do you want me to send the guy over if he can help?”

“Yes, please. I need to get on and do scheduling, and it won’t start up.”

“I’ll let you know,” Hawke said, and hung up.

He texted Anders ten minutes later. _He should be there in about half an hour_.

Anders did a quick clean of his kitchen, frantically shoving dishes into the dishwasher and wiping down the countertops. Sure, the man wasn’t going to _look_ in there, but Anders needed it to be clean just in case.

Exactly as the clock turned to 3pm, there was a knock at his door. Anders opened it to see not at all what he’d been expecting.

A slight elf with bronzed skin and tattoos up his throat looked up at him with green eyes that froze Anders’s heart in place.

 _Oh no, he’s hot_.

“Anders?” The elf asked, and the rumble of his voice made Anders’s knees knock together.

“That’s me,” Anders squeaked.

“Garrett Hawke sent me. You’re having computer problems?”

“Yes,” Anders said, “I apologize for troubling you.”

The elf smiled, and _oh_ it was just a _hint_ of a smile that somehow knocked the breath from Anders’s lungs.

“If it was trouble, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.

“Thank you,” Anders said, gesturing inside. “I didn’t know what to do. It won’t turn on.”

The elf followed him in, looking around the room, taking in the shirt tossed over the back of the couch and the cat tower in the corner. He didn’t see a cat though. Pounce was in the bedroom, napping on Anders’s blanket.

 _I don’t actually live like this_ , Anders thought helplessly, despite the fact that he very much did.

The elf —Anders realized with horror that he hadn’t asked his name— pressed the power button. Anders was momentarily afraid that it would start working all of a sudden; that would be his luck. But it didn’t. It whirred, a blue screen flashed on the monitor, and it shut off again.

The elf hummed and knelt to look at the computer tower. That strange and mysterious black box that Anders didn’t dare to touch, but which kept his computer running. 

“I’ve had it about a year,” Anders offered, hovering behind him. “It just started doing this today.” The elf pulled a small screwdriver from his jacket pocket and opened up the side of the computer tower.

As soon as he pulled away the side, he leaned in to look closer.

“When did you last clean this out?” He asked, not looking back at Anders, who was staring in horror. Inside his tower was a huge mass of cat hair. Some of it gathered down in the bottom of the tower, more of it throughout the other small cards and devices and crammed between the wires and cords.

“I— ah,” Anders stammered.

“I didn’t think to bring any air,” the elf said, and Anders was very confused at first. _Air?_

“I can open a window…”

The elf chuckled, reaching inside to sweep out some of the hair.

“Canned air,” he said. “It is generally recommended to blow the dust out of your computer a couple times a year.”

“Is that why it’s not working?” Anders asked, weakly. He felt quite stupid, now.

“Hard to say,” the elf said. “I would hope it’s simply that. We could fix it easily in that case.”

In hardly any time at all, the elf had swept out most of the cat hair, blown out the dust, and given Anders a very pleasant view of his backside as he did so.

“Try it now?” He said.

Anders pressed the power button as the elf sat back and waited.

The computer whirred, the screen flashed with a loading screen, and then the login screen came up, just as it had before.

“Oh Maker, you fixed it!” Anders cried, hurrying to put in his password and check. The elf stood up, brushing his hands together.

“Oh, let me show you the kitchen,” Anders said, quickly jumping up to show the elf the kitchen, which was attached to the living room in clear view. “You can wash your hands in here.”

The elf smirked a bit as he followed Anders into the kitchen, again, taking in the empty countertops, the old pizza box, and the fancy jar labeled “kitty treats” beside the stove.

“Thank you so much again, er…” Anders started. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Fenris.” The elf washed his hands as Anders dug into his junk drawer for some cash.

“Here,” Anders handed it to Fenris. “I refuse to have you do that for free.”

“Oh,” Fenris looked surprised for the first time since Anders had met him. “All I did was clean out some dust, I don’t require—”

“Oh, no, please take it.” Anders insisted. “I thought my computer was dead! You have no idea what a relief this is to me!”

The elf finally accepted the money, tucking it in his pocket with the screwdriver.

“I still recommend getting some compressed air,” he said.

“Yes, thank you,” Anders said, “I’m sure I can find some!” He led the way back to the front door, reluctantly. He would be sad to see the door close between them, but of course, they’d just met. The elf couldn’t have any idea how Anders felt. If he did, Anders would have been _mortified_.

Anders sat back down at his desk and finished the scheduling for his clinic hours. He still couldn’t help but think about the handsome elf that Hawke had sent to help him.

Several weeks passed, and Anders had agreed to attend more of Hawke’s gatherings than he would have previously. Partly out of gratefulness for Hawke helping him, and absolutely partly in the hope that Fenris would show up at one of them. He didn’t, though, and Anders tried not to be too disappointed.

He came up with a solution a few weeks later though when he couldn’t connect to his schedule for the clinic. He’d figured out how to reset the router at one point several years back. But _Fenris_ didn’t know that. And Hawke didn’t need to know what technical problem he was having. He reset the router for today. It was too late in the evening to contact Hawke and try to get him to send Fenris over. Maybe another time, but...this would only be the second time.

Anders then realized he didn’t know how to make the router stop working without unplugging it, so he was going to have to either unplug it or wait for it to happen again. From that point on, the router was frustratingly reliable.

Anders was lonely. He really wanted to see that elf again, but he knew that it was a selfish desire. So he tried to console himself with petting Pounce and watching television.

He finally gave up the following weekend.

He pulled the little plug out of the back of the router and then pushed a stack of books in front of the router to hide the missing power cord. This seemed a plausible enough reason for him not to have noticed.

He called Hawke, sounding panicked.

“Hawke, do you still, uh, have that number for that guy that came to fix my computer?”

“Something wrong?”

“I don’t know...yes?”

“What’s it doing?”

“I can’t tell, it’s ...not responding at all.”

“Not at all?”

“Nothing!”

“Are there any error messages?”

“No, I don’t know what to do!”

“Alright, stay calm,” Hawke said. “I know it seems really bad, I’m sure it’s easy to fix.”

“It hasn’t ever done this before,” Anders said.

“I’ll text him,” Hawke said. “Do you need someone to take a look at it today?”

“I-If possible,” Anders said, throwing as much waver into his voice as he could.

Hawke was immediately placating.

“I know it seems terrible,” Hawke said. “I’ll see if he’s available for you. Hang in there.”

“Th-thank you, Hawke.”

Anders did feel a _little_ bad about fabricating an emergency, but Fenris could easily say he wasn’t available and Hawke would give him the unfortunate news, and Anders would assure him that he’d be alright.

Anders went into the kitchen and looked around for something he could make that wouldn’t look too suspicious if he _happened_ to be making it. He eyed his slow cooker. Pulled pork would be tasty, and it wouldn’t look suspicious if he had enough to share, but he may not have time. Last time he’d only had an hour. That wasn’t much time at all. The easiest thing he could think of was cookies, or perhaps chocolate brownies. Both would be simple. He decided on brownies, and quickly mixed up a batch of them, throwing in some chocolate chips to make them extra-sweet.

He heard his phone meow, the loud meow sound that Anders had reserved for Hawke.

 _He’ll be there soon_ , Hawke had sent. Anders felt a flutter of excitement and hurried to pull the pan of brownies from the oven. His apartment still smelled like chocolate when there was a knock at the door and Anders opened it, half-breathless, to see Fenris there. Those same green eyes, the same dark jacket, the same question.

“Anders?”

Anders had somehow forgotten about the pleasant deep timbre of the elf’s voice.

“Thank you for coming,” Anders said, stepping back to let Fenris inside. He gestured to his computer. “I’m useless with this thing, it seems.”

Fenris hummed—Anders decided that any sound the elf made was music, he sounded divine—and headed towards the computer.

“It is frozen?” He asked.

“It was,” Anders stammered. “I think it uh-started working, but I still can’t get it to-uh-work…”

Those green eyes turned to blink at him.

“What’s wrong with it, again?”

“I’ll show you!” Anders hurried to sit down and open the web browser. He clicked the icon to open his clinic’s scheduling website. And a “no network connection” message came up.

“You are connected to the internet, aren’t you?” Fenris asked, leaning in to look at the error.

“I have always been,” Anders supplied. His tech issue was looking rather flimsy, but it _had_ worked. He gave a small hopeful smile. “Can you fix it?”

“How are you connected to the router?” Fenris looked down to where Anders’s computer tower sat on the floor, scanning the wires running from the back of it.

“Ah… wirelessly?”

“Your router, then?”

Anders turned to point across the room. The little machine sat dead on the shelf. The little lights that should have been blinking were dark.

“Does it have power?” Fenris padded over to gently pull it away from the wall and look behind it.

“It should—” Anders started, still holding onto his smile despite knowing Fenris was about to find the problem. The elf turned and held up the unplugged cord.

Anders’s smile widened again. _Maker_ , he hoped he didn’t look guilty.

Fenris plugged the cord back into the back of the router, not saying a word.

“I bet that’s what the cat was doing earlier,” Anders said. “I didn’t think that could happen.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cat do that,” Fenris said, tucking the router back in alongside the stack of books. “Is it working now?”

Anders quickly turned to refresh the page. After a few seconds, it connected.

“Hey, it worked!” His smile was much too wide, and he amended it a bit too late.

“Is that it, then?” Fenris asked.

“It doesn’t have to be,” Anders said, quickly jumping to his feet. “Do you want a piece of brownie?”

Fenris blinked at him.

“Chocolate,” Anders explained. “A chocolate brownie. I uh—since I couldn’t work, I was baking.”

“It smells good,” Fenris said. At least he wasn’t making a run for the door. Anders would take that as a good sign.

He tried to look as casual as possible as he ducked into the kitchen to cut a generous serving of warm brownie for his guest.

Fenris took his hands from his jacket pockets to hold the plate and take a small bite. The tattoos that Anders saw on his throat continued on his hands, delicate lines trailing up the backs of his fingers.

“Thanks,” Fenris said.

“Thank you for helping me out,” Anders said. “Again,” he added. “I’m hopeless when it comes to technology. Do you...work on computers?”

“Sometimes,’ Fenris said. _Well that didn’t help much_.

“Is that how you met Hawke?”

“More or less.” _That didn’t help either_.

“I work at a clinic,” Anders offered. “I patched Hawke up once, and got him some...information he needed. I guess we’ve been friends since then.”

“You are a doctor?”

“Technically, no, but I do all the work a doctor would do.”

Fenris seemed...almost interested?

“What kinds of clients do you see?”

“What kinds?”

“Humans, men? General health?”

“Oh…” Anders reached behind him for the plate of brownie squares he had dished out a couple minutes ago and offered Fenris another. Fenris accepted it. _He has a sweet tooth, or these are really good_ , Anders thought.

“My clinic is open to all,” Anders said, “but we get probably a higher number of elves and low-income clients. I handle trauma cases and emergency visits as well.”

“Hmm.” Fenris finished the brownie in a single bite and stuck his hands back in his pockets. He licked his lips, and Anders’s eyes watched, mesmerized.

“Do you want to … take one with you?” He asked, offering the plate again.

“That’s alright,” Fenris said. “Next time, perhaps check your router if you’re having that same problem.”

Anders nodded, his ears turning hot. He followed Fenris to the door as the elf excused himself. Anders held the door open for a moment behind him.

“Thank you for your help!” He called, waving after Fenris, who looked back at him—he _looked back at him_ —and nodded amiably. Anders closed the door and let his head drop forward until his skull knocked against the door.

“I’m a hopeless idiot, aren’t I?” He mumbled.

His phone mewed at him again. Hawke.

Anders checked the message.

_Everything ok?_

He messaged back, _everything is working again. Thx yuo!_ He huffed in frustration. His fingers were clumsy on the phone keyboard, but he didn’t think he could keep his voice under control if he called Hawke. He sent the message and tossed the phone onto the loveseat beside him, throwing his head back on the cushion.

He knew Hawke would be available to him, and Fenris, this handsome and oh so attractive elf, was not. But he _wanted_. 

It was that wanting that had him trying to come up with increasingly desperate ways to lure Fenris back to his apartment. Now that his computer was running well, and he'd already used his router, Anders had no technological complaints. He looked at every electrical thing he owned now as an opportunity. But realized that sabotaging them would be very obvious. As if unplugging the router hadn't been. He didn't want to repeat something quite that simple again.

So Anders pined and sighed and went to work as usual. Justice had noticed that he was somewhat less perky at times, but they hardly had much time for conversation. Anders wouldn't have thought it possible, but their business had increased lately, and a noticeable number of the first time clients were elves who were escaping some or another kind of abuse. Anders didn't ask too many questions—he knew Justice was already doing that. They would find safety and help here.

It was an ordinary evening when Anders turned to greet someone entering the clinic, only just in time to see them collapse inside the door. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw the client's white hair. He tried to calm himself, telling himself it wasn't Fenris, but as he hurried closer, he realized with a sinking feeling that it _was._

He hefted the unconscious elf in his arms and staggered towards the open exam room behind the desk. He felt a warmth soaking through the fabric against his arm, and looked down to confirm that Fenris was bleeding from long scratches down his forearms and over his hands.

"Justice!" Anders called. His friend appeared in the door as Anders lay Fenris on the exam bed.

"Injuries?" Justice asked, moving next to him immediately.

"He passed out before I could ask," Anders said. "Bleeding from arms and hands, and there appears to be a head injury as well." A good portion of Fenris's white hair was turning red on one side behind his ear.

Justice barked instructions, which Anders obeyed without properly registering what he was doing. At some point, Justice dismissed him. Anders realized that it was now past their closing time, so he went to lock the front door. Then he went into the back and made a fresh pot of coffee. Against his better judgement, but his nerves needed it. He saw Justice once when Justice went into the supply room and then rushed back to the exam room with a rape kit.

Anders most definitely felt sick. He knocked back the rest of his coffee and went to the bathroom, locking himself in a stall. He didn't need to—he had a strong enough stomach, and emerged again several minutes later, still feeling queasy, but knowing he wouldn't throw up.

He just wanted to _help_. Justice would summon him if he was needed, but Anders hated waiting.

Anders drank another cup of coffee. A terrible idea, but he didn't have any better ones at the moment, and didn't care.

Finally, Justice came looking for him.

"He'll be fine," he said. "You could have gone home, you know."

"I was worried," Anders said. "When I saw him collapse…"

"He's going to be fine," Justice repeated. " _You_ drank too much coffee."

"He's ok?"

"He will be. I'll call Hawke for you."

Garrett was more than happy to swing by and pick Anders up to take him home. As Justice had said, he wasn't in a state to be driving himself. Justice would stay until Lirene came in early in the morning to start her shift.

Hawke was polite. He didn't ask questions, nothing more than his usual light hearted banter. Anders stumbled into his apartment and fell face first into bed, passing out shortly after.

He woke with a headache and feeling incredibly groggy. He remembered what had happened a minute later and dug under his pillow for his phone. The clinic phone rang once and then Lirene answered.

Once Anders explained _which_ elf he was calling about, she reassured him that they were fine, and would probably be waking up soon. Anders couldn't stop seeing the way Fenris had collapsed.

 _He's going to be fine_.

Anders took the bus to the clinic and eyed the little room at the back nervously. They transferred patients into that room if they needed to stay overnight. Anders had no reason to go in there, so he kept to his regular duties. There were several people waiting already and he began his day’s work tending to small injuries and diagnosing inflammations and fevers.

Two hours in, he saw Lirene go into the back room and come out with Fenris walking behind her. His arms were wrapped up beneath the sleeves of the familiar black jacket he wore. Anders forced himself to look away and back to the patient he was talking to at the front desk. Anders desperately wanted to call out when Fenris passed him, heading for the front door. But he didn’t. Fenris left the clinic without so much as even acknowledging him. Anders’s heart sank into his stomach. Fenris had no reason to talk to him, of course, but he’d been hoping to have a word with him.

He went about his work day, feeling extra melancholy, so much so that Justice noticed when he arrived mid-afternoon.

“You don’t look so cheery today,” he said, stopping next to where Anders was slouched in a chair taking a break and nursing a lukewarm cup of coffee.

“Just tired, I suppose,” Anders grumbled.

“Did that elf leave already?” Justice asked.

“Mmhmm. Lirene said he was fine.”

“Good, good,” Justice mused. “He desperately needed the rest.”

Anders wanted to know more, but not his patient, not his business. He sighed.

“You sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, yes. Like you said last night, I had too much coffee. I didn’t sleep well.”

“And here you are with another cup. How many have you had so far today?”

“This is only my third. It’s my last one,” Anders said, pouting.

Justice cracked a bright smile.

“And you got a couple days off coming up.”

“Mmhmm.” Anders took a long sip of coffee as Justice walked off to wash his hands and start work. What good was a couple days off if he was just going to be home alone? Perhaps he really should see if Hawke would come over. Some company for his solitude might be nice.

“Guess what?” Hawke’s voice was excited. He really could be like a big, happy mabari sometimes.

“What?” Anders was at his computer, scrolling through some news articles. One of the city’s politicians was kicking up a fuss over a new wage law. The guy was an asshole, and Andesr was pleased to see him being forced to give fairer wages to his employees.

“Varric got you a TV from one of his clients. They only had it six months before they decided to upgrade, so it’s like _new_! You can have something bigger than your thumbnail now, and it won’t have a cracked color profile like yours has.”

“My TV works fine,” Anders said, though it was true that the colors were pretty god-awful, and it was a bit small. His apartment wasn’t that big anyway, though. He glanced over a photo in the article he was reading, and did a double take. Behind the politician was a glimpse into his office, and there, over the man’s shoulder, staring at the camera like a startled deer, was _Fenris_ . He had a sheet of paper in his hand, outstretched to hand it to someone else just off-camera. _He works for Danarius?_

Hawke was talking, but Anders didn’t hear him.

“What was that?” Anders said, when Hawke had stopped, waiting for Anders’s response.

“I can bring it by this afternoon, but I’m not sure what it’s going to take to get it set up,” Hawke said. “That work for you?”

“I don’t know how to set it up either,” Anders said, “but yeah, that works.”

“Here, why don’t I see if Fenris is available,” Hawke said, pausing to see how Anders would react.

“That...that should work,” Anders said, blinking and looking away from the news article. “Should I get something we can watch to test it out? I can order pizza.”

Hawke laughed.

“No need to throw a party,” he said, “though I’m flattered, and I’m sure Fenris would be as well.”

Anders flushed a little thinking about Fenris, but all he could see was those bandages on his hands from the other day. He may still have them on. Anders swallowed.

“Right,” he said. “No party. Pizza?”

“I’m never going to refuse pizza,” Hawke said. “Two-thirty work for you? I’ll let you know if Fenris is available.”

“Sure.” Hawke hung up and Anders returned to the article. But nowhere was there any mention of Fenris. Just that haunting picture. Fenris looking afraid to be caught on camera. Anders couldn’t see any bandages on his hands, but then the photo was probably months old, dug up from some interview to be used for the article.

He closed the article and set about cleaning his living room and kitchen. His old DVD player wouldn’t open the tray anymore, and had issues working with his old TV anyway. He put both in a little pile next to the table in the hall and headed out to get groceries. He spotted a yard sale on the way, and thought he saw some wires and tech junk, so he stopped to browse through the items.

“What’s this?” He held up an old, dusty box with several wires coming out the back that looked like the ones on his DVD player.

“For movies,” the grumpy dwarf replied, counting out change for another person buying a stack of books.

“How much?” Anders asked.

“I’ll give it to you for ten copper,” the dwarf said. _A steal!_ Anders thought brightly. Surely this would work better than the one he had. The dwarf wouldn’t be selling something that didn’t work. He happily paid for the DVD player and put it on the seat next to him. Hawke texted him that Fenris could come at three fifteen to help set up the television. Anders couldn’t stop smiling. He did have that old ‘Sleepless in Seheron’ DVD he hadn’t seen in _years_ and couldn’t wait to watch again. And ‘Dirty Dancing.’ He did enjoy that one too.

He got his groceries, including more cocoa powder so he could make another batch of brownies.

Just before two, he started the brownies. They would need to bake for a while, and then he would order pizza once the TV was installed.

Hawke arrived at two-forty-five, and called Anders to come down and help bring the TV up.

It was _huge_.

“Are you sure I’m the person Varric should be giving this to?” Anders asked, sticking his head into Hawke’s SUV to look at the monstrous television propped up against the back seat.

“He said it was for you,” Hawke said. “I got a nice TV already. Yours is horrendous.”

“Okay, fair,” Anders conceded. “It still feels too fancy for me.”

“You’ll get the hang of it in no time,” Hawke said. “Help me carry it up.”

They managed without too much trouble. The TV was large, but surprisingly light.

“I guess that’s how they make them now,” Anders said, brushing his hands off. He plugged in the television, and then reached for the wires on the back of his “new” DVD player.

“What in the maker’s name is _that?_ ” Hawke asked.

“Oh, my old DVD player doesn’t really work anymore,” Anders said. “I picked this up today at a yard sale.”

“Anders, that thing has to be like twenty years old…”

“They wouldn’t sell it if it didn’t work, would they?” Anders said, disappearing behind the TV to look for a port to plug it in.

“Anders, they _absolutely_ will sell you something that doesn’t work. How much was it?”

“Ten copper.”

“Anders!”

“Huh?” Anders stood up to look at Anders over the TV.

“There’s no way that old thing works.”

“I guess we’ll find out,” Anders said. “Once I can find a place to plug it in…”

“The TV probably doesn’t even _have_ the right ports to plug that in anymore,” Hawke said.

“I think I am just blind,” Anders said, tucking the cord underneath the TV. “I’m sure Fenris can get it working.”

Hawke didn’t even bother arguing. He threw up his hands and went into Anders’s kitchen to get himself a beer.

“I’ll order the pizza,” Anders offered, flopping onto the couch with his phone. “Do you know what Fenris likes?”

“No clue,” came Hawke’s voice from the kitchen, accompanied by the _pop_ of the beer can opening. “Aren’t these the same beers I brought over a month ago?”

“Oh, probably,” Anders said, not looking up from his phone. “I don’t drink that much, you know.”

Anders was just finishing ordering pizza when there was a knock on the door. Hawke hurried to answer it.

“Hey Fenris!”

Anders tried not to look _too_ interested as he jumped up to greet the elf. He couldn’t help but glance at his hands. The bandages were gone, but the cuts were still visible.

“Do you have any problems with pepperoni or ham and pineapple pizza?”

Fenris shook his head.

“Anders offered pizza in exchange for us helping him set up his TV,” Hawke explained. “I need you to talk some sense into him though. He won’t listen to me when I tell him that the DVD player he picked up at a yard sale isn’t going to work.” He gestured to Anders and the TV stand where the dusty, discolored old player sat on the shelf beneath the television.

Fenris didn’t say anything, just went over to the TV stand, squatting down to look at the player Anders had purchased.

“This is for VHS tapes,” he said. He pushed a finger into the slot and looked inside. “And there’s cheese inside of it.”

“ _Cheese?!_ ” Hawke ran over to look for himself. “Anders, did you even look at this before you bought it?”

Anders groaned.

“I don’t suppose it plugs into my TV either,” he said, dropping back onto his couch.

“Considering how new this TV is, probably not,” Fenris said. “I’m afraid this VHS player won’t be of much use to you in that case.”

“We can at least get the TV set up,” Hawke said, handing Fenris the remote.

Anders shoved his phone in his pocket and went into the kitchen to serve some brownies onto a plate. He was a bit deflated, but Fenris was here at least.

There was a show playing on the television when Anders returned a minute later.

“It’s working already?” He asked. “That was fast.”

Hawke grabbed a brownie before Anders could even offer them.

“Fenris?” He held out the plate.

“Thank you,” Fenris took one, setting the TV remote on the TV stand. Anders got a closer look at the cuts on his hands now. He still couldn’t say what they were from. There were so _many_. 

Fenris pulled self-consciously at the sleeves of his jacket.

“I was honestly expecting that to take longer,” Anders apologized. “Well, and to spend some time setting up the DVD player.”

“VHS player,” Fenris corrected.

“If you don’t mind waiting, I do want to offer pizza,” Anders said. “I guess I can’t really put on a movie if the player doesn’t work.”

“What was wrong with your old one?” Hawke asked, bending to look at the discarded player.

“It didn’t really work with my TV very well,” Anders said. “And last time I tried, the tray wouldn’t open.”

“We can try it anyway,” Hawke offered. Fenris finished his brownie and helped Hawke plug in the old DVD player. For _some_ reason, this time the tray opened without any complaints.

“There’s already a DVD in here,” Hawke said, pulling it out. “Cats? Really Anders?”

“It’s a good musical!” Anders grabbed the DVD. “I was wondering where that went.”

At least he’d won a small smile out of Fenris.

“Maybe we can get your DVD player working,” Hawke said, holding out his hand for the DVD. Fenris reached behind the TV to plug in the player and Hawke pushed in the tray.

“I uh, am not sure where the remote is,” Anders said. “One sec.” He started pulling the cushions off the couch until he found it, along with 3 mouse toys and 2 other cat toys that Pounce had somehow lost.

Fenris took the remote from Anders and changed the source until he saw the DVD menu.

“The color is still pretty bad,” Hawke said, disappointed. “I’d hoped that was just your old TV.”

“That’s definitely the player,” Fenris said. He hit _play_ on the movie, Anders watching his face hopefully for signs of what the elf was thinking. He was unreadable, but he did sit down on the end of the couch, offering Anders the remote.

“Oh, you know how to use that better than I do,” Anders said. “Another brownie?”

“I am alright, thanks,” Fenris said.

Anders tried not to be heartbroken.

“I can’t believe I’m about to watch Cats,” Hawke said, dropping down on the other side of Anders.

“At least you get pizza?” Anders offered.

“At least I get pizza,” Hawke repeated.

Anders tried not to look at Fenris too often as the musical started. He found it hard to believe that the elf had agreed to sitting down and watching the Cats musical with him. Well, with him and Hawke, but still. Fenris leaned against the arm of the couch, his chin resting gingerly on a part of his hand that wasn’t hurt.

When the pizza arrived, Anders jumped up and fetched them plates and glasses of water. And another beer for Hawke.

To Anders’s surprise, both Fenris and Hawke stayed for the entirety of the film, though Fenris excused himself to the restroom once.

“Thanks for watching that with me,” Anders said, as it finished, his heart fluttering in his chest as he looked from Hawke to Fenris.

“Sure,” Hawke said. “It’s been a while since I got to hang out with you.”

“I liked it,” Fenris said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. His jacket pulled up just enough that Anders could see a brief flash of his tattoos continuing down the center of his back. His ears reddened a bit.

“Do either of you want to take any pizza home?” Anders asked, jumping up to cover up his blush.

“I’ll take a couple slices,” Hawke said. He grabbed his cans and the other dishes on the table, following Anders into the kitchen.

Hawke glanced to make sure Fenris hadn’t followed, then leaned in to whisper to Anders.

“Have you had the hots for Fenris this whole time?” He whispered.

“ _Shh_!” Anders hushed him. His ears flamed even hotter.

“I won’t tell him, don’t worry,” Hawke said. “I have been inviting him to my parties, but he’s a busy guy. That explains why you’ve been showing up more often.” He winked.

“ _Hawke!_ ”

“My lips are sealed!” Hawke grinned, and danced out of the kitchen.

Anders groaned. Hawke’s lips could be unreliable.

Hawke and Fenris left shortly after, and Anders flopped onto his couch, burying his face in the cushion. He realized after a minute that his face was planted where Fenris’s ass had been for the duration of the movie, and groaned as he blushed. _Why am I so hopeless?_


	2. Standby Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anders finds out more about Fenris's past, and not in the way he had hoped.

It was two more weeks before Anders saw Hawke again. Anders showed up to one of his Hawke’s game nights.

Hawke was excited to see him, he ran to grab Anders’s arm and pulled him into the kitchen, away from the other guests.

“I was really hoping you’d show up,” Hawke said, and there was an urgent undertone to his voice.

“Hawke?” Anders looked at him nervously.

“I didn’t hear any response from Fenris,” Hawke said. “I think there may be something going on.”

Anders’s mind immediately flew back to the night at the clinic. Fenris collapsing just inside the door with blood running down his forearms.

“What can I do about it?” Anders said. “If he needs help, you know I will, but I don’t really know him.”

“I am not really at liberty to give you details,” Hawke said, “but Fenris did confide a bit to me, about what he is involved in, and I could use your help as well, I think. You have medical experience”

“Medical experience? Is someone hurt? Hawke, you’re not making sense, and honestly I’m just getting more and more worried.”

“Sorry, let me just.” Hawke pulled out his phone. “He’s doing something tonight, and he has someone else with him, but he warned me that things could go wrong. He told me that if he didn’t contact me before now, then he may be in trouble.” He showed Anders his phone—it had a map location on it. “He should be here. I am going, but would you come with me?”

“What about your party?” Anders gestured to the door.

“Varric can cover it,” Hawke said. “This is important.”

“You’re not trying to set us up, are you?” Anders asked.

“ _ Maker _ , Anders, this really is important! Are you coming or not?”

“Yes, of course, I just—”

“Then we have to go now,” Hawke said, grabbing Anders’s arm and pulling him towards the front door.

“Let me get my med kit out of my car at least,” Anders said.

He rejoined Hawke in his car and hopped in. He had barely closed the car door when Hawke took off. Anders hurried to buckle his seat belt. He could ask more questions, but he had a feeling Hawke wouldn’t tell him much, so he kept quiet, clinging to his med kit.

They pulled up to the location on Hawke’s phone. It was a dark part of town, with a burnt out street light on the corner.

Hawke walked up to the brick wall opposite the corner, scanning it. The top of the wall was bristling with barbed wire. Anders frowned and followed along.

They heard a shout from further down, inside the wall. Hawke ran that direction. They came across a metal door, slightly ajar.

Hawke pulled out a gun and readied himself. He glanced at Anders, who stared at him in panic.

“Hawke?!” He mouthed under his breath, and then Hawke burst through the door.

“Step back!” He shouted.

Anders ran up to the doorway to look inside.

Hawke had run into a small courtyard, mostly cracked concrete, with patches of grass sprouting through here and there. A man stood over a prone form, but he took a step back as Anders looked in.

“Who are you?” He demanded.

“Hands up where I can see them,” Hawke growled, pointing the gun at the man.

The form on the ground coughed, and Anders looked back down. White hair… Fenris?

“Anders?” Hawke spoke, and Anders realized he was supposed to go and check on Fenris. He cautiously approached, trying to keep a wide berth of the line between Hawke and the man who turned an angry glare on Anders now.

Anders knelt and reached first to check Fenris’s pulse. Irregular, but strong.

He carefully slipped his arms underneath Fenris’s shoulder and started lifting him up. Fenris groaned and coughed again. There was blood on his face, running from his nose and his split lip and a cut above his eye.

Anders’s hands were shaking, but he scooped Fenris’s legs up as well and stood, staggering away from the man. Anders stared at him, staring at the man rather than looking down at Fenris, but the man was so vicious looking, Anders almost stumbled and fell. Fenris had something clutched to his chest. Anders backed away slowly.

“Take him to the car,” Hawke said.

Anders nodded and slipped out behind Hawke, breaking into a halting run.

“ _ Maker, Fenris _ ,” Anders whispered, maneuvering Fenris into the back seat of Hawke’s car, cradling his head as he settled him on the seat. “What happened?”

Fenris blinked at him. His lips parted, but he didn’t speak.

“Don’t speak,” Anders said, “just lie still.”

He opened his first aid kid and pulled out some gauze, dabbing at the blood on Fenris’s face. The cuts weren’t too bad.

“Get in!” Hawke shouted, running towards the car.

“Hawke?” Anders straightened, only to see a figure running down the alley after him. He slammed his first aid kit shut and climbed into the back seat, squeezing himself between the driver’s seat and the back seat. He dropped the med kit by his feet and braced himself as best he could while Hawke threw the car into reverse, and then jerked as he took off.

A gunshot glanced off the door next to Anders and he ducked over Fenris, gasping. Hawke had to slam on his brakes a couple streets down at a stop light.

“Maker’s tits!” Hawke spat, glancing behind him. Anders saw the lights of another car approaching behind them.

“Hawke, please tell me that’s not—”

“Just stay down,” Hawke said, taking a sudden right at the light and taking off. Anders shifted to brace himself on top of Fenris, trying to hold him in place as the car swerved and they both slid towards the door.

Another gunshot hit the back of the car, and Hawke swerved again. 

“Hawke, you sure—”

“Just shut up Anders!”

Anders looked at Fenris’s face. The elf’s eyes were wide and fearful. Anders wished he could give some kind of reassurance, but he had no idea whether Hawke would be able to outrun their pursuers.

Anders had no idea what was going on either, but he could feel Fenris shaking and gasping under him.

“Hawke,” he whispered under his breath, closing his eyes. Hawke didn’t hear, but he wasn’t meant to. Anders flinched as another gunshot sounded off the back of the car.

Hawke skidded around a corner and slammed on the gas pedal, accelerating up a ramp onto the freeway.

Anders’s eyes widened when he realized where they were going. Neither of them had any kind of safety restraints for if Hawke got into an accident, and Fenris was still bleeding.

Hawke laid on his car horn and swerved into another lane. Anders swore under his breath and propped himself up, reaching for the seat belt buckle.

He pulled it forward, holding the buckle between his teeth. He maneuvered Fenris up, leaning him against the door and buckling him in. Fenris was reluctant to let go of the camera he held in his hands, but Anders pried it from his fingers so he could buckle him in, then let him grab it again.

“This isn’t good to be sitting up,” Anders grumbled quietly, “but I can’t let anything happen.”

Hawke glanced in the mirror and saw Anders sitting Fenris up in the seat.

“Careful!” He called back.

Anders crouched down again when he heard sirens.

“ _ Finally _ ,” Hawke grunted, and slowed down. As he did so, the car that had been pursuing him flew past the cop car and slammed into the back corner of the car. The car flew forward, spinning around and crashing against the concrete wall on the side of the highway. 

Anders was wedged enough between the seats that he slammed his head against the seat, but without too much force. His neck was going to  _ hurt, _ and he was going to be bruised, but he was unharmed. Fenris held tight to the camera in his hands, jerking forward and getting caught by the seat belt. He yelped in pain, and Anders closed his eyes. Fenris probably had a broken rib or two, and that wasn’t going to feel good. Hawke’s air bag blew, so he was also unharmed. They were all very shaken, though.

The officer pulled forward, seemed to try to think about what to do, and then took off after the fleeing car, leaving Hawke’s SUV on the side of the freeway, its lights flashing.

“Anders?” Hawke carefully looked over his shoulder to see where Anders was huddled at the bottom of the car. “Please tell me you’re okay.”

“Nothing’s broken,” Anders said. “I’m going to be hella sore though.”

“Fenris?” Hawke tried to turn even further to look at the elf.

Fenris gave him a half-hearted smile, but he didn’t look good.

Anders grunted and dislodged himself, feeling around near his feet for the first aid kit. He needed to help Fenris now.

Hawke got out and opened the back door, sweeping aside some of the broken glass from the taillight with his boot.

Anders unbuckled Fenris, taking care not to release the buckle until he could make sure Fenris didn’t fall over. Hawke reached in to help, holding the buckle in place until Anders was ready, then releasing it and allowing Anders to ease Fenris down onto the seat.

Anders knew he couldn’t really do anything about the bruising at the moment, or the broken rib, but he could put some disinfectant on the cuts on his face and wiping away the blood on his chin and upper lip.

Hawke helped Anders remove Fenris’s jacket. He was bruised up and down his arms and on his chest, but Anders couldn’t do much about that. He dabbed disinfectant on Fenris’s bloody knuckles too. As he finished, they heard sirens approaching. Another two police cars and an ambulance pulled up, blocking off the nearest lanes so other cars wouldn’t pass too close.

Hawke went to intercept the police and the paramedics and tried to explain the situation. The police had heard over the radio what happened so had an idea that Hawke hadn’t been speeding because he wanted to.

Hawke also took them around to the back of the car and showed them the damage from the gunshots.

Anders found himself shaking, wrapped in a thin blanket, in the back of the ambulance. Fenris was laid out beside him, and Hawke was on his other side. Hawke had a blanket as well, but didn’t seem to be quite as affected by the shock. His nerves were frayed though.

Anders didn’t remember much beyond that. Being escorted into the hospital was something of a blur. Hawke and Fenris were redirected to other rooms. Anders didn’t get a chance to see them until hours later.

None of them would have to spend the night, at least. Fenris was the worst off, but most of his injuries were cuts and bruises and the broken ribs.

“Varric will be here soon,” Hawke said, dropping into a chair and cradling his head in his hands. He looked exhausted.

Anders didn’t feel much better, and Fenris looked like he felt about the same. None of them were very talkative when Varric showed up and they climbed into his small car. Hawke was barely taller than Anders, but he was bulkier, so Anders and Fenris were relegated to the back seat.

Fenris sighed and collapsed against the seat, still holding the camera in his lap. Anders didn’t really want to ask, but it must mean a lot to him, whatever was on it.

Varric was talking to Hawke, and the lull of their voices had Anders feeling sleepy. He didn’t even notice he was falling asleep until the car stopped and he was practically laying on Fenris’s shoulder. Fenris’s head was leaning against his as well. They both started awake, sitting up and looking around a bit dazed.

“Come on in,” Hawke said, turning around to the two of them. “You can stay at my place tonight.”

Both of them were too tired to argue. They followed Hawke into his house.

“I’ve only got one spare bedroom unfortunately,” Hawke said. “But I’ve got a bed and a pretty comfortable couch.”

“I’ll take the couch,” Anders said. “I’m so tired, I think I can sleep anywhere.”

Hawke showed them to the bedroom, and the adjoining bathroom.

He brought them two large glasses of water as well, though Fenris was already curled up under the blanket on the bed.

“Sorry for dragging you into that,” Hawke said softly, handing Anders the water. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.”

“You brought a  _ gun _ , Hawke.”

“I had to be prepared. Ended up being useful.”

“What would have happened if you hadn’t had it?”

Hawke patted the side of Anders’s face.

“Let’s not think about the alternatives,” he said. “Everyone is safe.”

“For now. Who were those people? Why were they so aggressive?”

“I don’t actually know.”

“ _ Maker _ , Hawke—”

“Get some rest, Anders,” Hawke said, smiling at him.

Anders was still a bit shaken, but he drank some water, then lay down to go to sleep. There wasn’t anything else he could do for now.

Anders would have expected some kind of explanation the next day, but none was forthcoming. Varric came by and picked up Anders and Fenris and took them home, dropping Anders off first. He had questions on his tongue, but couldn’t seem to bring himself to ask any of them.

And then life went back to normal.

For a week, that is.

Anders was browsing the news on his day off, and at the top of the page was an article about the same politician as he’d seen before. Danarius Ulterius. A scathing article. With dark photographs of the slavery ring he had been running from an old building in Lowtown. Anders gasped.

One of the photographs featured the man who had been beating Fenris. Probably just before that had happened. And in the background, Anders saw the fence with the barbed wire on top of it.

“ _ Oh, Maker _ ,” he whispered, scrolling back up to read the entire article. The author had interviewed one of Danarius’s former captives, who had requested that his name not be revealed. He purportedly had worked his way into Danarius’s favor and worked as an employee in his political office for several years before making an attempt to reveal the politician’s dark business.

Anders could only stare at the screen in horror.  _ Fenris _ . It had to be.

He called Hawke immediately.

“Did you hear about the scandal around Governor Danarius?” Anders asked, breathless.

“Scandal?”

“There’s an article in Kirkwall Times.”

“You can’t tell me what happened?”

“This has to be what Fenris was working on, that night.”

“Oh.”

“Can I … talk to him?”

“To Fenris?”

“You don’t have his number?”

“No, I don’t,” Anders said.

“I’ll talk to him,” Hawke said. “And I’ll read the article.” He hung up.

Anders paced his living room. He could hardly sit still after hearing all of this. He kept turning on his phone and checking for a message from Hawke.

He started when he heard a knock on his door.

He opened it to see Fenris standing there. Fenris shifted on his feet nervously.

“Fenris?”

“I did not get to thank you properly for that night,” Fenris said.

“Come in, please,” Anders said. “Can I get you something? I’m afraid I don’t have any, uh, broken equipment for you to fix.”

Fenris chuckled. He did come inside, though he declined Anders’s offer of something to eat. There was a brief uncomfortable pause.

“I just read the article,” Anders finally said.

“Hawke said something to that effect,” Fenris said. “I should have told you.”

“You don’t owe me an explanation,” Anders said quickly. “I had no idea.”

“I also want to thank you for that night at your clinic,” Fenris said. “I don’t remember much.”

“Are you...safe?”

Fenris nodded.

“I am now, thank you.”

“Fenris…”

Fenris looked up at him, the most vulnerable Anders had seen him, at least voluntarily.

“I’m sorry.”

“You did nothing wrong,” Fenris said.

“I mean, aside from trying to come up with any excuse I could to talk to you,” Anders said, laughing nervously.

“Yes, the router was mildly obvious,” Fenris observed, “but the brownies made up for it I think.” He gave Anders a smirk.

“Wait, really?”

“I have a weakness for sweets,” Fenris admitted.

“And how do you feel about cats?”

“I am a bit disappointed I haven’t met yours yet,” Fenris said, raising an eyebrow.

“You want to meet Pounce?” Anders could hardly believe his ears. Now if his heart would just calm down.

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Anders said. “But uh, I come with the cat.”

“I think I could accept that,” Fenris said. “If you...don’t mind.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Anders said. “I would like to get to know you.”

Fenris looked so cute when he was shy, and Anders had never seen him like this before.  _ Is he blushing?! _

Despite his hesitation, Fenris still met Anders’s eyes with a boldness that Anders wouldn’t have expected.

“Alright,” Anders said. “Pounce is in the bedroom, he’ll want to get to know you if you’re going to start coming around more.”

“Let’s go, then,” Fenris said, giving Anders a big smile. Oh, Anders  _ must _ be dreaming, this was too good to be true. Yet, there they were, walking into Anders’s bedroom so Fenris could meet his cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say I was sorry.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok sorry about this getting darkish. It was SUPPOSED to be CUTE. And it only gets worse. I'm so SORRY.
> 
> at least I got it out of my system now. I hope someone can enjoy it at least a little.


End file.
